NASCAR Statistical Advance: Analyzing the Coca-Cola 600

Below is a look at some of the top statistical performers at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C. going into the Coca-Cola 600 on May 26.

CHARLOTTE-SPECIFIC STATISTICS

Aric Almirola (No. 43 USAF Ford)

· One pole

· Average finish of 14.0

· Average Running Position of 12.5, fourth-best

· Driver Rating of 84.8, 11th-best

Greg Biffle (No. 16 Fastenal Ford)

· Five top fives, eight top 10s; one pole

· Average finish of 16.4

· Average Running Position of 13.9, seventh-best

· Driver Rating of 94.1, fifth-best

· 300 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most

· 1,174 Green Flag Passes, 10th-most

· Average Green Flag Speed of 175.906 mph, third-fastest

· 3,716 Laps in the Top 15 (65.1%), sixth-most

· 653 Quality Passes, fifth-most

Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M’s Red-White-Blue M-Prove America Toyota)

· Eight top fives, 11 top 10s; one pole

· Average finish of 15.3

· Average Running Position of 9.6, second-best

· Driver Rating of 107.7, second-best

· 418 Fastest Laps Run, third-most

· 1,147 Green Flag Passes, 12th-most

· Average Green Flag Speed of 176.527 mph, second-fastest

· 4,565 Laps in the Top 15 (80.0%), second-most

· Series-high 833 Quality Passes

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 National GuardChevrolet)

· Five top fives, 11 top 10s; one pole

· Average finish of 18.8

· Average Running Position of 20.2, 25th-best

· Driver Rating of 78.8, 18th-best

· 1,228 Green Flag Passes, eighth-most

· 2,401 Laps in the Top 15 (44.7%), 17th-most

· 487 Quality Passes, 17th-most

Carl Edwards (No. 99 Fastenal Ford)

· Five top fives, 10 top 10s

· Average finish of 12.0

· Average Running Position of 15.4, 10th-best

· Driver Rating of 89.0, seventh-best

· 118 Fastest Laps Run, 13th-most

· 1,329 Green Flag Passes, third-most

· Average Green Flag Speed of 175.543 mph, 12th-fastest

· 3,282 Laps in the Top 15 (57.5%), eighth-most

· 632 Quality Passes, sixth-most

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet)

· Five wins, 16 top fives, 21 top 10s; eight poles

· Average finish of 15.7

· Average Running Position of 15.9, 12th-best

· Driver Rating of 87.3, 10th-best

· 188 Fastest Laps Run, eighth-most

· 1,124 Green Flag Passes, 13th-most

· Average Green Flag Speed of 175.723 mph, sixth-fastest

· 3,216 Laps in the Top 15 (56.4%), ninth-most

· 601 Quality Passes, ninth-most

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota)

· Three top fives, eight top 10s

· Average finish of 14.1

· Average Running Position of 12.9, fifth-best

· Driver Rating of 92.1, sixth-best

· 200 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-most

· Average Green Flag Speed of 175.656 mph, ninth-fastest

· 3,780 Laps in the Top 15 (71.2%), fourth-most

· 616 Quality Passes, eighth-most

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Patriotic Chevrolet)

· Six wins, 11 top fives, 15 top 10s; three poles

· Average finish of 11.4

· Series-best Average Running Position of 7.9

· Series-best Driver Rating of 111.7

· Series-high 544 Fastest Laps Run

· 1,167 Green Flag Passes, 11th-most

· Series-best Average Green Flag Speed of 176.653 mph

· Series-high 4,932 Laps in the Top 15 (86.4%)

· 825 Quality Passes, second-most

Kasey Kahne (No. 5 Time Warner Cable Chevrolet)

· Four wins, seven top fives, 10 top 10s

· Average finish of 12.4

· Average Running Position of 12.4, third-best

· Driver Rating of 98.0, third-best

· 474 Fastest Laps Run, second-most

· 1,331 Green Flag Passes, second-most

· 3,729 Laps in the Top 15 (65.4%), fifth-most

· 729 Quality Passes, third-most

Matt Kenseth (No. 20 Home Depot Husky Toyota)

· Two wins, seven top fives, 14 top 10s

· Average finish of 14.2

· Average Running Position of 14.8, ninth-best

· Driver Rating of 94.4, fourth-best

· 303 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-most

· 1,259 Green Flag Passes, sixth-most

· Average Green Flag Speed of 175.786 mph, fifth-fastest

· 3,549 Laps in the Top 15 (62.2%), seventh-most

· 699 Quality Passes, fourth-most

Joey Logano (No. 22 Pennzoil Ford)

· Two top fives, five top 10s

· Average finish of 10.1

· Average Running Position of 14.5, eighth-best

· Driver Rating of 88.4, eighth-best

· Average Green Flag Speed of 175.561 mph, 11th-fastest

Mark Martin (No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota)

· Four wins, 18 top fives, 24 top 10s; two poles

· Average finish of 16.6

· Average Running Position of 13.3, sixth-best

· Driver Rating of 88.2, ninth-best

· Average Green Flag Speed of 175.799 mph, fourth-fastest

· 3,862 Laps in the Top 15 (67.7%), third-most

Tony Stewart (No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet)

· One win, six top fives, 12 top 10s; one pole

· Average finish of 14.0

· Average Running Position of 15.9, 11th-best

· Driver Rating of 83.4, 12th-best

· 187 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-most

· 1,263 Green Flag Passes, fifth-most

· Average Green Flag Speed of 175.719 mph, seventh-fastest

· 2,998 Laps in the Top 15 (52.5%), 10th-most

· 567 Quality Passes, 10th-most

Chase Contenders

The Top 12

Following Race 11 of 36

Rank Season

Last Driver

Driver

Points

Wins

Poles

Week

Rating

1. Jimmie Johnson

423

2

1

1

114.9

2. Carl Edwards

379

1

0

2

92.3

3. Matt Kenseth

364

3

2

4

118.6

4. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

359

0

0

3

95.4

5. Clint Bowyer

349

0

0

5

95.2

6. Kasey Kahne

326

1

0

7

99.5

7. Brad Keselowski

326

0

0

6

92.2

8. Kyle Busch

325

2

2

10

103.5

9. Aric Almirola

317

0

0

8

80.0

10. Kevin Harvick

315

1

0

12

92.8

11. Paul Menard

315

0

0

9

78.6

12. Jeff Gordon

311

0

0

14

89.0

ADDITIONAL DRIVERS

13. Greg Biffle

311

30. David Blaney

190

14. Martin Truex Jr.

301

31. David Gilliland

188

15. Jamie McMurray

295

32. JJ Yeley

157

16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

282

33. David Stremme

150

17. Ryan Newman

276

34. David Reutimann

149

18. Kurt Busch

262

35. Landon Cassill

130

19. Joey Logano

259

36. Travis Kvapil

127

20. Jeff Burton

258

37. AJ Allmendinger

122

21. Tony Stewart

253

38. Scott Speed

74

22. Juan Pablo Montoya

238

39. Michael McDowell

72

23. Marcos Ambrose

235

40. Michael Waltrip

63

24. Mark Martin

226

41. Terry Labonte

52

25. Casey Mears

210

42. Timmy Hill

45

26. David Ragan

197

43. Ken Schrader

29

27. Denny Hamlin

197

44. Scott Riggs

6

28. Danica Patrick

196

45. Brian Keselowski 4

29. Bobby Labonte

195

Note: The first 26 races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season determine which 12 drivers qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, contested over the final 10 races of the season. After race No. 26, the top 10 earn a berth in the Chase. Spots 11 and 12 – the Wild Cards – will go to those drivers outside the top 10 with the most wins, provided they are in the top 20.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2013 Top 12 at Charlotte Motor Speedway

Driver

Races

Poles

Wins

Top Fives

Top 10s

DNFs

Average Finish

Driver Rating

1

Jimmie Johnson

23

3

6

11

15

4

11.4

111.7

2

Carl Edwards

16

0

0

5

10

1

12.0

89.0

3

Matt Kenseth

27

0

2

7

14

5

14.2

94.4

4

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

26

1

0

5

11

3

18.8

78.8

5

Clint Bowyer

14

0

1

2

4

0

16.4

80.0

6

Kasey Kahne

18

0

4

7

10

1

12.4

98.0

7

Brad Keselowski

7

1

0

1

1

0

15.7

83.2

8

Kyle Busch

18

1

0

8

11

4

15.3

107.7

9

Aric Almirola

2

1

0

0

0

0

14.0

84.8

10

Kevin Harvick

24

0

1

2

7

1

18.0

75.6

11

Paul Menard

12

0

0

0

1

1

23.3

64.0

12

Jeff Gordon

40

8

5

16

21

9

15.7

87.3

* – Based on last 16 races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

At Charlotte Motor Speedway:

History

· Construction began on Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1959.

· The track’s first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was held on June 19, 1960 – won by Joe Lee Johnson.

· The track was repaved midseason in 1994.

· The track name changed from Charlotte Motor Speedway to Lowe’s Motor Speedway in 1999. It changed back to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the 2010 season.

· The track was re-paved again before the 2006 season.

Notebook

· There have been 108 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points races at Charlotte Motor Speedway, two races per year since the track opened in 1960. In 1961, there were two 100-mile qualifying points races held the week before the May race. The first six fall races at Charlotte were 400-mile events (1960-65).

· 517 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points paying race at Charlotte Motor Speedway; 364 in more than one.

· NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the series in starts at Charlotte with 64. Terry Labonte leads all active drivers with 57 starts; followed by Mark Martin with 56.

· Fireball Roberts won the inaugural Coors Light pole at Charlotte in 1960 with a speed of 133.904 mph.

· 41 drivers have Coors Light poles at Charlotte, led by David Pearson with 14. Ryan Newman leads all active drivers in poles, with nine, followed by Jeff Gordon with eight.

· 12 drivers have won consecutive Coors Light poles at Charlotte. David Pearson holds the record for most consecutive poles at Charlotte with 11; from the fall of 1973 through 1978.

· Jeff Gordon won five straight poles for the spring races at Charlotte between 1994 and 1998.

· 45 different drivers have won at Charlotte Motor Speedway, led by Darrell Waltrip, Bobby Allison and Jimmie Johnson with six wins each.

· Nine drivers have posted consecutive wins at Charlotte Motor Speedway, including three consecutive by Fred Lorenzen (fall 1964 and both 1965) and four straight by Jimmie Johnson (both in 2004 and 2005).

· A season sweep at Charlotte has occurred eight times, including each season from 2004-2007.

· Eight different manufacturers have won in the NSCS at Charlotte; led by Chevrolet with 40 victories; followed byFord with 28.

· 14 of the 108 (12.9%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Charlotte have been won from the Coors Light pole; the two most recent were Jimmie Johnson in 2004 and 2009.

· The second-place starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners (17) than any other starting position at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

· 31 of the 108 (28.7%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Charlotte have been won from the front row: 14 from the pole and 17 from second-place.

· 83 of the 108 (76.8%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Charlotte have been won from a top-10 starting position.

· Eight of the 108 (7.4%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Charlotte have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.

· The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Charlotte was 37th, by Jimmie Johnson in the Coca-Cola 600 of 2003.

· Richard Petty leads the series in runner-up finishes at Charlotte with nine. Bobby Labonte leads all active drivers in second-place finishes at Charlotte with six; followed by Matt Kenseth with three.

· NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty and Bobby Allison are tied for the series’ most top-five finishes at Charlotte with 23. Mark Martin leads all active drivers with 18, followed by Jeff Gordon with 16.

· Richard Petty leads the series in top-10 finishes at Charlotte with 31. Mark Martin leads all active drivers with 24.

· Ryan Newman leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at Charlotte with a 6.917.

· Joey Logano leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average finishing position at Charlotte with a 10.125.

· 14 of the 16 active NASCAR Sprint Cup winners at Charlotte Motor Speedway participated in at least two or more races before visiting Victory Lane. Jamie McMurray won in his first appearance at Charlotte Motor Speedway.Jeff Gordon won in his second appearance at CMS.

· Terry Labonte competed at Charlotte Motor Speedway 36 times before winning in the fall of 1996; the longest span of any the 16 active NASCAR Sprint Cup winners.

· Joe Nemechek leads the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup starts at Charlotte without visiting Victory Lane at 33; followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. with 26.

· Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory (MOV) in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Charlotte was the May 29, 2005 race won by Jimmie Johnson over Bobby Labonte with an MOV of 0.027 second.

· There have been three NASCAR Sprint Cup races resulting with a green-white-checkered finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but only once for the Coca-Cola 600 (Scheduled No. of Laps/Actual No. of Laps): fall of 2005 (334/336), fall of 2007 (334/337) and the 2011 Coca-Cola 600 (400/402).

· Five of the 108 races at Charlotte Motor Speedway have been shortened due to weather conditions; the most recent was the 2009 Coca-Cola 600 won by David Reutimann and Michael Waltrip Racing. Four of the five races shortened were the 600-mile events (1968, 1997, 2003 and 2009).

· Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Charlotte twice; the fall race of 2002 and the fall race of 2008.

· Four active drivers have posted their first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light pole at Charlotte Motor Speedway: Jeff Gordon (10/10/93), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (5/28/00), Ryan Newman (5/27/01) and Aric Almirola(5/27/12). Almirola’s pole last season was the first time since May 22, 1966 that the No. 43 car had won the Coors Light pole at CMS.

· Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in laps led at Charlotte with 1,439 laps led in 23 starts. 826 of Johnson’s 1,439 laps led at CMS were in the Coca-Cola 600; the most of any active NSCS driver.